Coming to Ebay: Bid on complete personal genome sequence

Announcing the first EVER charity auction of whole genome sequence. Ebay auction runs April 24th-May 4th. From the sponsors: “The X PRIZE Foundation, an educational nonprofit prize institute which awards $10million prizes for radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity, and Knome, Inc., a leading personal genomics company, are working together to provide this unique opportunity. Through this special charity auction you will have the opportunity to accelerate the field of personalized medicine and join an elite group of genomic pioneers by receiving a comprehensive private analysis and interpretation of your very own whole genome sequence and more!”

Min Bid: $68,000

FYI: DNA Day is April 25 (Created by Congress in 2003 to commemorate the completion of the Human Genome Project and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the DNA double helix structure.)

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Wow. This truly pokes right at my sweet spot for technophobia/techonphilia. If I understand this auction correctly, you’re bidding on the right for some company to sequence your particular genome to enhance genetic research in general. The questions are manifold:

–There are HUGE privacy issues here, especially given the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
–Who gets the information?
–What is done with it?
–What happens if your genome is spread worldwide?
–Assuming your personal genomic information IS available to the medical community at large, what sorts of harm COULD be done to you?

Yes, yes, yes: there are sure to be benefits in the long run. The “joy” of being first is that half the frickin’ world will know what makes your body tick, and is that necessarily a Good Thing?

Wow. This truly pokes right at my sweet spot for technophobia/techonphilia. If I understand this auction correctly, you’re bidding on the right for some company to sequence your particular genome to enhance genetic research in general. The questions are manifold:

–There are HUGE privacy issues here, especially given the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
–Who gets the information?
–What is done with it?
–What happens if your genome is spread worldwide?
–Assuming your personal genomic information IS available to the medical community at large, what sorts of harm COULD be done to you?

Yes, yes, yes: there are sure to be benefits in the long run. The “joy” of being first is that half the frickin’ world will know what makes your body tick, and is that necessarily a Good Thing?